Get Reel: When silence is golden

Is a great script only one that contains pages and pages of dialogue? Can a film succeed with minimal or no dialogue? Go the multiplex right now and you'll see two examples of movies where silence is golden: "All Is Lost" and "Gravity."

When people find out I'm a film critic, they typically ask me two questions. "Who did you kill to get that job?" is the first. Here's the second: "I just saw a movie with a great cast and a great director, but the film was so horrific it made me want to hammer nails into my eyes. How can a film with all this talent be so terrible?"

To answer the first question: They'll never find the body. To answer the second, which in all honesty might be the third or fourth query: You should have checked out who the screenwriter was. Ask most folks in the film business and they'll tell you a film succeeds or fails based on a screenplay's quality. "It all starts with the script." they'll say. As a frustrated screenwriter, I heartily concur. Devotees of the auteur theory might beg to differ. Great directors don't need a great script to make a great film, they would argue. I suppose it depends on what you consider a great script. Is it only one that contains pages and pages of dialogue? Can a film succeed with minimal or no dialogue? Go the multiplex right now and you'll see two examples of movies where silence is golden: "All Is Lost" and "Gravity."

The former stars Robert Redford as a sailor whose sailboat becomes disabled, forcing him to take extraordinary steps in order to survive. After a brief monologue at the beginning, the film contains no dialogue apart from one choice word. The latter stars Sandra Bullock as an astronaut whose spaceship is damaged, forcing her to take extraordinary steps in order to survive. There's significantly more dialogue in this film as Bullock's character is accompanied by a loquacious astronaut played George Clooney at the beginning, but most of the film finds Bullock left alone with her dire thoughts.

It's reminiscent of the conclusion of "Alien" where Sigourney Weaver's character ends up being the sole survivor on a spaceship following a rather unpleasant monster attack. She's left to converse only with a cat and sing "You Are my Lucky Star" to herself as the creature moves in to remove her body parts. "Lucky, lucky, lucky." Indeed.

While the scripts for "All Is Lost" and "Gravity" may not be word-heavy, they still provide the framework for the directors to employ their visual talent to tell their stories. A great script doesn't necessarily need a lot of words to be great. All it needs sometimes is a great idea or at least an idea that sparks the imagination of the director. Case in point, the 1971 TV movie "Duel," in which Dennis Weaver's motorist gets terrorized by the never-seen driver of a tanker truck. The film gives a young director by the name of Steven Spielberg a chance to showcase his cinematic gifts as he turns something mechanical into a villainous character bent on destruction. Spielberg would repeat this transformation, more or less, four years later in a little movie called "Jaws." That he was able to scare the human waste out of audiences with a malfunctioning mechanical shark is a tribute to his filmmaking skills.

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One element common to most of these minimal-dialogue scripts is, not surprisingly, a minimal amount of characters. Call it "the marooned effect." In "Duel," Weaver's character is all alone in his car on a desert highway as the truck tries to turn him into roadkill. In 2000's "Cast Away," Tom Hanks' character is stranded on an uninhabited island where his only conversational partner is a volleyball he names Wilson. In 2008's "Wall-E," a robot is left alone on Earth to clean up garbage. The arrival of a fellow robot name Eve gives him a companion. Though he doesn't say much - he's more the strong, silent type - Wall-E manages to start a relationship with Eve, who isn't much of a conversationalist either. It's the ideal relationship: no bickering. Well, Eve does have destructive capabilities so it would be a good idea not to get on her bad metallic side.

In 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey," early scenes don't feature any dialogue simply because the characters don't have a language to speak. Director Stanley Kubrick energizes the opening with a combination of visual pyrotechnics and inspired musical selection. People who have seen the movie and hear Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" most likely can't get the sight of an airborne bone out of their heads. Later on, an astronaut played by Keir Dullea is the only human left on a spaceship. He would be completely alone if not for the company of a computer named HAL, who has some issues.

There are minimal-dialogue films where the characters aren't marooned. In 1956's "The Red Balloon," a young boy and the title character form an unlikely friendship on the streets of Paris with music playing a more pivotal role than dialogue. That didn't stop the French short from winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

For truly inspired storytelling with no dialogue, 2009's "Up" depicts the relationship of Carl and Ellie, literally from start to finish, without a word being spoken. If this scene doesn't get you choked up, you have no heart and the Wizard of Oz wouldn't give you one if you asked.

Some actors have fashioned lengthy careers without relying on excessive dialogue. Clint Eastwood, the man with no name in so many westerns, was also a man of few words. His characters compiled a larger body count than word count.

Finally, there are myriad examples in movies where a picture is worth a thousand words, give or take a few hundred. Hey, film is a visual medium after all. For a startling example, check out the scene in "12 Years a Slave" where the camera focuses on Chiwetel Ejior's character in a close-up, off-center shot that seems to last forever, kind of like the ordeal he has been put through.

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Yes, dialogue isn't necessary for cinematic greatness. But when characters do talk, it's usually a good idea that they say something meaningful even if it's only a one-word expletive like the one Redford's sailor screams in "All Is Lost."

History lesson

It’s now time for TRIVIA.

Last month’s tester: In what 1990s movie was one of the minor characters later convicted of multiple murders in real life? Clue: The film won an Oscar. Another clue: This individual played another minor character in another Oscar-winning 1990s film. You must name the film and the actor.

Answer: Louis Eppolito, who was in "GoodFellas. He was also in "Bullets Over Broadway."

No one answered the question correctly.

This month’s tester: What Oscar-winning film from the 1960s was released four months after a major historical event? Clue: The movie and the event have similar locations. Another clue: The film features three Oscar winners.

The first reader to answer the question correctly will receive a prize from Neiman Marcus.

Trivia enthusiasts can call me at 508-626-4409 or email me at rtremblay@wickedlocal.com. Make sure you leave your name, address and phone number on my message machine or email so I can contact you if you answered the question correctly. The address is needed so winners can be mailed their prize. Callers should spell out their names slowly and clearly so their names will be spelled correctly in the column.